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Thanks for the excellent service and informative site. I am looking forward to my next purchase and was hoping for a recommendation on your artiflex series.

I currently use a tojiro itk 240 gyuto for most prep tasks that I enjoy but in my new kitchen I butterfly a lot of boneless chicken thigh, 120lbs a week. I find that's most boning knives are too thin for this task or don't hold an edge to get through the case. I am interested in the honesuki for this task but I would also like to use the same knife for service, mainly cutting garnishes and sandwiches as well as on the fly small prep tasks. Would the utility be a better fit or is this a 2 knife solution.

That leaves us with the "two knife" conundrum you think you're potentially facing.

#1: There are those that use Hones as a petty; I have no phucking idea how. The angular axis of handle:spine:cutting edge is just strange (to me) as a petty & the tip is particularly thin & pointed, but humans are an adaptable species, for sure.

#2: I have never used/held the ArtiFEX, but it's description reads as a single bevel grind with an asymmetric edge grind. Sound like a kata-ha single bevel with a slight back bevel. Personally, I wouldn't want a single bevel petty for slicing garnish - depending on what it is, of course. Single bevels inherently steer... not my preference for garnish work. I don't see steering being an issue on sandwiches, but you'd be surprised on thick firm bread. It really depends on what you're cutting.

#3: You apparently are not boning birds, you're slicing flesh. Why would you want a boning knife (Honesuki)?

Get a 150mm petty with some height so you have a blade face to butterfly with, and a thoroughly functional utility knife that can excel at garnish work & cut your sandwiches. You have absolutely no need for a boning knife as you are not boning anything.

Your dilemma now is pricing; not much out there at a $70 price point. The Tetsuhiro is probably the closest you can get @$100. It is not fully stainless, rather stainless-clad, but you're getting an awesome carbon edge in the trade. It's a little short for me, but still quite capable in your application. A full carbon Tanaka Sekiso would be my number one reco, but I don't think you want full carbon. The Masakage Yuki would be the best stainless-clad fit... if you're good with that, but it may be over budget as it is twice the cost of an ArtiFEX honesuki. And a fully stainless option, that just kicks ass but is $170... KaneG3

_________________Embracing the silence amid a life and land full of static...

Adam Marr

Post subject: Re: Will honesuki work for me?

Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 9:52 am

Forum Moderator

Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:36 pmPosts: 3330

I use my honesuki as a small knife quite often.

It's not an ideal knife for such things....but it does work so that I don't have to dirty two knives.

However, for the multitude of tasks you're looking at....a honesuki would be a poor substitute and as Mel pointed out it seems you aren't truly boning chickens.

You could also just upgrade or add to the gyuto your using. Get a better 240mm or add a good 210mm.

_________________If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.

taz575

Post subject: Re: Will honesuki work for me?

Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:55 pm

Forum Moderator

Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:13 amPosts: 3166Location: CT

Maybe look for a Funayuki like the Yamashin? 165mm blade, tall enough to use on the board, fine tip for delicate stuff? Or a 150mm or longer petty would work well. Or a narrow & thin 210mm gyuto.

If you want something that will hold an edge like crazy, have a thin enough blade and a great all around knife, look at the custom 210mm M390 Artifex I converted these to Wa handles and thinned them way out and fully sharpened them. They should cut like crazy for a long time, much longer than the ITK!

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